The snowpack (annual mountain snowfall slow to melt in the summer) in the Sierra Nevada is critical for California's water supply.

After an unusually dry and warm winter, March and April provided us with much-needed storms.  The snowpack increased, although not to the point where we can feel free and clear of a potential drought this upcoming summer!

Thinking about our current water situation recently brought up a conversation amongst my co-workers.  We observed that many people here in the mountains (and elsewhere) are unaware that while its true that the quality and quantity of the water in our life-giving rivers and streams is affected by the yearly total of rain and snow, it is also dependent on human actions that affect our local watershed.  This need for awareness has spurred a growing movement in this country to increase the understanding of what a watershed is, that we all live in one, and that what we do can affect its health.

So…what is a watershed (and how do we affect it)?

A basic sketch of a watershed's elements.

A watershed is an area of land that collects water from rain or snow that drains to the same place. The water collected in the watershed seeps into the ground or flows into rivers, streams, and lakes. A watershed can be thought of on a small to a large scale.

Unmaintained roads can add large amounts of sediment to creeks and rivers, harming the habitat for important fish and amphibian species.

If you have a stream in your backyard, you might think about the sources of water for that particular stream, and think of those as a watershed for the stream.  You could also think about the river that that stream flows into, and all the other streams contributing to that river, and those would be part of that river’s watershed.  That river could flow into a larger river which eventually runs into the ocean, making the river part of the ocean’s watershed.

What does that mean? Through watersheds, we are all connected!  When our forests are clearcut, or we add more paved roads, or leaky septic systems go unrepaired- these things can wash pollutants and sediments into our rivers, lakes, reservoirs – and the availability of clean water for people and wildlife is diminished. It’s important to raise awareness of how we as people can harm or improve our local watersheds.  Knowing that our actions can cause problems, we can support solutions that help us to live in better balance. The Center for Watershed Protection has a great website to help raise awareness about what a watershed is, why they are important, and how we can better protect it.

Connecting with our local watershed.

What watershed do you live in?  Where I live (Tuolumne County), there are many local creeks which drain into the major rivers (the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and the Clavey) within our county’s mountains.  Twain Harte Creek, Sullivan Creek, Rose Creek, Deer Creek, and Woods Creek are just a few of the creeks that may ring a bell for local residents.  And there are many smaller seasonal creeks and wet meadows which contribute to those creeks.

Meadows can be important natural aquifers for a watershed, but when they are degraded they lose their ability to retain water and dry out.

As you drive up and down through the hills it can be interesting to try and visualize what particular drainage you are in at that moment.  Practicing this, I find my awareness of the layout of our land in this region as well as the many watersheds I move in and out of has grown. I really enjoy it!  I encourage you to try it as well.  It helps to have a map you can refer to with the creeks and rivers in your area on it.  I found an amazing interactive watershed map online, on the Calflora website.  Check it out here if you want to really see your watershed. As I get better connected with the watersheds in my area, I also have become more aware of how many impacts each and every creek and river within a watershed endures.

What watershed do you live in?  What are threats to your watershed, and what can you do to help protect it?

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Yesterday, I drove the back way from Twain Harte to Groveland on the Old Ward’s Ferry Road and was rewarded with an incredible display of poppies by the Ward’s Ferry Bridge.  Caution: this road is narrow, winds, and often is close to being one lane in many sections!  Drive with care and find a safe spot to pull over if you are stopping to look at flowers.

Other great spots to see poppies and other early spring wildflowers

- Highway 49 by the Stevenot Bridge (en route to Angels Camp).

- Highway 49 from Moccasin to Maripoisa.

- Areas along 49 between San Andreas and Jackson

- Highway 140 in the Merced River Canyon.  A great hike you can take that is world-renowned for its poppy displays is the Hite Cove Trail about 8 miles west of El Portal.

Also, blue oaks are at their peak vibrancy for the year, as their new green leaves spread out!

Where are your favorite poppy displays?

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Ironically, it may just be for these reasons that chaparral in many areas remains relatively undisturbed by human beings, providing a sanctuary to many species that live there. Did you know that one of the last strongholds of the Grizzly Bear after being chased from California’s valleys and forests during the late 1800’s was thought to be in the dense continuous thickets of chaparral? Apparently, not many sheepherders or other people cared to venture into the shrubs because it was considered to be highly unsuitable land.

Chaparral thrives in winter and spring

At this time of year, when many plants are dormant, chaparral is undergoing its biggest growth spurt. During a typical year, life giving rains in winter break the dry spell of summer and give the shrubs what they need to grow. This also results in one of the first opportunities to see spring wildflowers in bloom.

Unlike many plants that go dormant in winter, plant species of the chaparral life zone thrive under mild, wet winter conditions and go dormant during the hot, dry summers.  The California Buckeye is a great example of this.

Summer wildfires bring an abundance of new life

Did you know that most chaparral shrubs have stems that aren’t older than 25 years old? Lightning fires during the hot, dry summer months have been an integral part of chaparral health and ecology for millenia and help keep the shrubs young.

For the first few years after a fire, the chaparral community is dominated by an abundance of lush grasses and annual wildflowers in the springtime. Manzanita begins to grow from fire-stimulated seeds. Chemise, Scrub Oak, and Mountain Mahogany, sprout from the roots of their charred remains.

Many grassland birds are attracted to the area as well, such as Quail, Morning Doves, Meadowlarks, and Sparrows.  Deer also graze on the grasses and are hunted by Mountain Lions. There are amphibians in the Scrub too, such as the Arboreal Salamander as well as snakes, such as the Striped Racer.

After a few years, a mature chaparral community arises

Eventually, the fast growing shrubs become tall enough to shade out grasses and other annual plants.

Grassland birds disappear and are replaced by chaparral birds, such as the Wrentit — the most common bird in chaparral habitat.  Small mammals, such as woodrats, mice, and brush rabbits also increase to normal populations providing more food for Coyotes, Gray Fox, Bobcats, and Cooper’s Hawk.

I hope this has inspired you to look at chaparral in a different light. It’s beauty and abundance can be subtle at times, but for those who are patient, experiencing chaparral habitat is well worth the effort. Right now, we are currently approaching the best time of year to explore the abundant wildflowers and wildlife that reside in our local chaparral thickets before the heat of summer. If you have some free time, you might want to consider getting outdoors and experience these places first hand sometime during the next few months while this life zone is at its peak.

-Heather Campbell, CSERC Blogger

The basics of the rain shadow effect

The Rain Shadow effect

The north/south orientation of the 400 mile long Sierra Nevada acts as a barrier to westerly winds carrying storms from the moist Pacific Ocean to the east.  The rising air masses cool and condense as they climb up the mountain, forcing the weather system to drop most of its precipitation on the west slope.

The west slope of the Sierra Nevada has large expanses of coniferous forests.

The result?  The western side of the mountain range is largely dominated by tall coniferous forests (think pine, fir, cedar) that depend on a high annual rain/snow fall to survive, while the eastern side of the range is dominated by high-desert vegetation (such as sage brush and rabbit brush).

The eastern Sierra Nevada

Can you imagine what kind of ecological landscape would be in this part of California, if it wasn’t for the Sierra Nevada?

The Sierra Wave-

Lenticular clouds formed by the Sierra Wave

Playing an essential role in our interesting weather phenomena yet again, the westerly winds that climb the ridges and descend into the troughs of the Sierra Nevada range are well known for regularly creating smooth and mysterious wave (or lenticular) clouds, regionally nicknamed the “Sierra Wave”.  For an excellent description of how these clouds are formed, read NASA’s breakdown of the process here.  In the meantime check out these great shots of clouds formed by the Sierra Wave.

The Sierra Wave.

The Sierra Wave from above. Image provided by NASA.

Satellite image of Tule Fog filling the Central Valley.

Tule fog
In winter months, cold air from the mountains sinks down to the paralleling Central Valley at night, causing the moist air of the fertile valley to condense into a dense fog known locally as the Tule Fog (named after the tule grass wetlands that once covered much of the valley).

View from above: Looking down into the Valley at Tule Fog from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

The valley has little air flow since it is capped on all ends by mountain ranges, and fog can linger all day long, causing traffic accidents and chilling the air for valley residents. The Tule Fog can run the  400 mile length of the valley all the way from Red Bluff down to Bakersfield!

And even a tornado?

So much for tornado alley!  In July 2004, the highest elevation tornado ever recorded touched down near Rockwell Pass (about 11,600 feet) in the southern Sierra. Such a mountainous topography is a rare setting for tornado formation (especially at such a high elevation), and this article breaks down the science behind its formation.  Very cool.

What is your favorite weather event from wherever you are from? Share with us here!

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Tamarack, CA just west of Bear Valley Ski Area holds the:
- U.S. snowfall record for one month: 390 inches (32.5 ft) in January 1911
- U.S. seasonal snow depth record: 454 inches (37.8 ft) on March 10^th, 1911.

How did all this record-breaking weather begin?

On New Year’s Day in 1911, many of the Sierra Nevada passes remained unusually free of snow, much as our very own passes are currently lacking in snow. Also, as is the case this winter, the prior winter in 1910 had been a La Nina year and it was still being determined whether or not La Nina would continue into the winter of 1911. Overall, the weather was unseasonably mild at this time and it’s likely that people thought they might be in for a mild winter.

On January 10th, 1911, to the astonishment of everyone, La Nina came in at full force.  The most intense winter storm in 21 years roared out the Gulf of Alaska and charged into the Central Sierra. The storm caused high winds and widespread flooding in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills. Some areas received up to 20 inches of rain over a 5-day period. Above 5,000 feet in the mountains, snow was estimated at times to be accumulating at a rate of 12 inches an hour. Avalanches were widespread and shut down train traffic throughout the Sierra snow belt. Several pack trains also got stuck in the storm.

On January 27^th, 1911, another storm barreled into the Sierra Nevada. The Tamarack Weather Station tallied 390 inches (32.5 feet) of snow for the month of January. Later that winter, on March 10th, 1911, an astonishing record snow depth of 37.8 feet was also recorded in Tamarack!

So, what sort of winter are we in for in 2012 – nearly a century later?

Perhaps, it will stay mellow and be a dry year. Yet again, as seen in 1911, mother nature always has the possibility of having a few things up her sleeve. What a surprise she had in store for people living in 1911 who probably looked at the dry weather in December as a possible sign of a mild winter. Is it likely we will have another record year? Probably not. Yet, learning about the past winter of 1911 definitely makes a person stop and ponder what is possible.

What are your thoughts on this coming winter?

-Heather Campbell, CSERC Blogger

(Information sourced from the Mark McLaughlin, Weather Historian, Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum)

Natural Holiday Gift Ideas

1. Native seeds- Everyone loves flowers, especially when you grow them yourself.  Give a collection of native seeds to your loved one this year!  If you live in California, Larner Seeds is a great Nursery with an online site where you can order according to the region of California you are from!

2.  Frame your own nature photograph- Remember the awesome hike you went on this past summer up in the mountains?  I’ll bet you took some great scenic photos on your camera. Why not enlarge one of them and frame it for a gift?

3.  Buy your loved one a CSA membership to your local farm for 2012- The gift of sustainable, locally grown produce.  Have you heard of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)?  The concept is this: you “subscribe” to a local farm and receive a weekly box of goodies fresh from the harvest.  Its delicious, nutritious, and sustainable!  Read more about the concept here.  We have some great local farms to buy a CSA share from here in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties: Red Earth Farm, Blue Oak Farm, and Outer Aisle Foods all deserve your business.

4.  Buy a season pass to your local park- What could be better than unlimited access to your nearby park or refuge?  The National Park pass is $80 and allows unlimited entry to any and all National Parks in the United States for one full year. A year-long pass to Yosemite is $40. A bit more expensive is the California State Park Pass, at $125.

Andy Goldsworthy

5.  Of course, the gift of time is always valuable-  Take your loved one to a beautiful scenic destination, or spend the day making a nature sculpture with the kids-at-heart in your family.  There are some great nature sculpture ideas, here and here.

6. Enroll your giftee in a field course through your local community college- I have taken field courses that run 1-4 days in length from Columbia College (our local CC), on topics including wildflower identification, mushroom identification, and Sierra Nevada natural history. They are great ways to get to know your local ecology better, visit beautiful locations, and meet cool people interested in nature.

7.  Give to nature in honor of your friend/family- Support your local environmental non-profit organization (like CSERC!), and make the donation in the name of your loved one.

What did I miss? Share you great natural gift idea with us here.

The camera footage we get from these stations are not only informative but often quite entertaining!  Not every animal that visits our stations is considered “rare”, but they all help provide valuable information about which animals are thriving in our mountains, and where they can be found. Watching the fast-sequence photos of animals investigating the bait left by our staff, this year I had the inspiration to make YouTube videos of our best footage.  Have you seen any of them yet?  If not (or you just want to watch them again), here they are for your viewing pleasure!

Let me know what you think, and which one you enjoyed the most!

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Day 3: Huckleberry Lake to Snow Lake

Made it to Snow Lake!  And man, it was worth the effort.  I sit alone (no offense Monster) in a High Sierra paradise!  I got up this morning around 6:30 and was on the trail by 8:30 (yes it took me 2 hours to get ready).  Most of the day was spent continuing up the East Fork Cherry Creek Drainage.  Smoother sailing today in terms of there being a trail, and I made much better time as a result.  Much of my route has been used by horses, making it very dusty and rocky from a hiker’s perspective.  Bugs were still really bad, and I could hardly stop to take pictures without getting barraged, so many of the flowers I admired will have to just be a fond memory.

Horse Meadow was especially nice (after a long climb out of the creek canyon), and I had an excellent lunch break by the meandering Creek that runs through it.  Even though we gained around 1500 feet elevation today, the rise was pretty gradual over the 9 miles hiked, so it really wasn’t too bad.

Snow Lake was a sight to behold, hard to describe all of the amazing scenic wonders of this place so hopefully my pictures can do it some justice.

I will say this about Snow Lake-  on top of their being the coolest granite mountain to ever hover over a lake, there is also a thousand foot waterfall from a towering volcanic ridgeline to take in.  Not to mention there is a steady breeze across the lake keeping those pesky bugs away.

Orzo with palak paneer and a miso soup appetizer for dinner!

Day 4: Snow Lake to High Emigrant Lake

Mellow-ish day today.  But before we get to today, let’s talk about last night!  At about 1:30 am, I awaken to the pitter-patter of little raindrops on my tent.  After laying there not wanting to deal with the situation, I finally convince myself that if I stay where I am and it really starts to downpour I am going to get flooded in my tent.  Grumblingly I hoist myself out of my bag, throw my shoes on, and go through the ordeal of dragging my setup to a better sheltered and non-flood-prone site.  Monster looked at me during this as though he was certain I had lost my mind.  And did it rain anymore after this? Not one drop.

Its nice hiking packless!

Anyways, my goal today was to get to Emigrant Lake, only a 4 mile hike, allowing me some leisure time to enjoy my present location.  I enjoyed a hike without my pack around Snow Lake before getting started.What I really enjoyed today was being pretty much above the E. Fork Cherry Creek drainage and seeing down into the canyon to all of the places I had been hiking through for the past few days, including iconic landmarks such as Sachse Monument.  I crossed over Cherry Creek one more time, by now a small trickle of a creek, and according to my map its headwaters were just 1/4-mile above me.

I moved into a mosaic of volcanic and granitic landscape as I crossed over Emigrant Pass and arrived at High Emigrant Lake, a beautiful open landscape!  A storm was blowing in as I set up camp, so I took extra care to set up camp just right to shelter myself from the elements.  Did it end up raining? Not one drop!

Getting a little R&R at High Emigrant Lake

Unnamed lake near High Emigrant Lake

Emigrant Meadow Lake

Day 5: High Emigrant Lake to Leavitt Lake

Hanging out at Leavitt Lake now with my boyfriend, final destination achieved- life is sweet! Forty miles total hiked, sandwiches, beer, sunshine, and human company.  Monster has crawled into the truck and has immediately passed out, today really wiped him out.

Looking towards my morning climb

Today’s hike was a good one- up one steep mountain (great views of the East/West divide of the Sierra Nevada), down its backside, and then back up and over Leavitt Pass.  Actually, I feel really good, not too tired and my pace felt really strong the whole time.  Did I mention the views were AMAZING?  I finally hit my stride, and  feel like I could keep going!

This trip was truly amazing, and I am proud of successfully navigating my journey solo.  It was a lot of work doing everything myself, with no one to help set up camp, pump water, cook dinner, hang the bear bag, etc.  At times the responsibilities of taking care of me and Monster out here overwhelmed the sense of being on a vacation.  But I did it and it feels great, and I am grateful for all of the gifts that this trip has given me.

I hope you enjoyed the tale of my trip through the Emigrant Wilderness! Thank you for letting me share with you and please share in return any of your special trips, and pictures that you have taken, of your favorite back-country places.

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Starting out...

Day 1- Kibbie Ridge to Lord Meadow

A challenging first day for my first trip of the year, with 11 miles and an over all elevation gain of 1400 feet.  Traveling solo weighs me down more than is ideal, and I’m starting to envy those folks who invest in ultra-lightweight gear!

Hiking along Kibbie Ridge.

I started at the Kibbie Lake trailhead, just above Cherry Lake, and the first 5-6 miles was an uphill climb through dusty forest, in an area that is still recovering from a fire that happened in 2003.

Heading down from Styx Pass

I finally reached Styx Pass, the tipping point before you head down into the East Fork Cherry Creek Canyon, which I would be hiking in for the next few days. I descended into the canyon towards Lord Meadow.  What a surprise my destination was! I had no idea how scenic this spot would be – I was honestly just expecting a place near water to sleep for the night.

Arriving at Lord Meadow, and the East Fork Cherry Creek.

Past glacial episodes appear to have really carved out this creek into a wide and flat granite basin. The creek has taken on a meandering pattern this time of year (with lower flows), there are lots of deep clear pools with beautiful rock bottoms.  I immediately indulged in a swim (as did my happy dog Monster) and the temperature was perfect!  This spot has already made the trip worth it.  Spanish rice with tortilla, black beans, and cheese for dinner- yum!

The view from Styx Pass, looking down into the East Fork Cherry Creek

Day 2: Lord Meadow to Huckleberry Lake

I hiked to Huckleberry Lake today, around 8 miles total.  It was so scenic following the E. Fork Cherry Creek up – really I had no idea what a treat I was in for.  More granite pools and beautiful cascades along most of the hike.
It’s a good thing the landscape is easy to read, and I was grateful that I had brought the detailed quadrangle maps of this area since the trail is very hit or miss.  There were long stretches where I just hiked along the granite by the creek, or followed the landscape approximately where the map said the trail was supposed to be.  One time I decided not to take the detour from the creek shown on the map, up and around a granite nob and back to the creek, and instead stayed on the creek.  Mistake! Lots of difficult scrambling that took too much time.  I almost back-tracked but didn’t. Huckleberry Lake is actually part of the East Fork Cherry Creek drainage, but has had a check dam that maintains its lake status presently.  The mosquitoes are bad here! I have a great camp spot with an awesome view of the Lake, but I can hear all the mosquitoes buzzing around my tent as I write this.  Lots of biting flies, too (shudder).  Poor Monster, I had pity on him as I watched the bugs feast on his face and let him into my tent tonight, he’s made himself at home quickly and is snoring away.

Monster and me by Huckleberry Lake (met a hiker who took our pic). Yes, my shirt is buttoned wrong!

Three more days to go! Stay tuned for the next and last installment of “Backpacking the east side of the Emigrant”

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger

Some of the awesome places I may visit on the way!

I  wanted to take the kind of trip that got me somewhere instead of returning to the same trailhead, and also go to a place in our area that I had never been before.  Looking at the map, I realized that every time I go backpacking in the Emigrant Wilderness I come in from the west side and head east, but never seem to make it all the way out to the boundary of the Emigrant and Yosemite.  If I came in from Cherry Lake in the southern end and headed north along the eastern boundary I could exit at Leavitt Lake and arrange rides relatively easily from these locations – not mention enjoy parts of the Emigrant I’ve never seen before!

Monster 'n me last summer on a trip in the Emigrant.

I’ve been packing and preparing for the past few days making sure that my awesome trail dog Monster and I have everything that we need to make the trip happily, while not overloading ourselves. I wrote a huge checklist days ago to think about the various items I need so I can check off the items and make sure that I don’t forget an essential item in the rush (nothing like getting 15 miles out and realizing you left your stove fuel at home!).  This morning I packed it all up and weighed in to see how much of a load I would be carrying.  Water included I wanted to keep the load to 35 pounds.  As I hefted my bag to the scale, I already knew that I was in for disappointment, but I must admit that my heart sank as I realized my pack was at 45 pounds!

So now I’m on my way home to see what I can possibly get rid of before heading out, and to do any other last minute preparations.  I hope I have fun, manage not to hurt my back, and make it to my ride at the other side on time – I’ll fill you on my adventures when I return!

-Julia Stephens, CSERC Blogger